Bet you thought this was going to be a discussion of cock mangling, sorry to disappoint. Right now there is a debate raging in our nation's capitol about the federal budget and how to cut it. How would you? Congress in typical fashion put off the decisions about what to actually cut to a 12 members 1/2 House, 1/2 Senate committee made up of 6 from each party.
So what would you cut? What does the government have no business spending our money on and why? And if you bother to read this and post, please cut and paste and send a copy to your 3 representatives. They need to know.
I will be happy to start. One of the reasons Social Security is in danger of running out of money is disability. Did you ever read the SS statements that used to go out every 6 months telling you what you might get if the system doesn't go broke. Did you even notice that your payment if you wait until your retirement date is less than you would get if you go on disability tomorrow? Did you know you can get disability from SS if you're a heroin addict? The same goes for alcoholics. To me call it a disease if you want but shooting junk up your veins is also a choice and I don't really like paying for other people's bad choices. There are lots of alcoholics who have quit drinking with or without therapy, drugs but none without willpower. Why should the money that comes out of my paycheck twice a month by cheap whiskey for some no account loser? Your turn.
Cut??
but 30% needs to go 1.0 trillion.... that is....oh, my head hurts... and to think I majored in maths oh those so many years ago....
Medicare & Medicaid ($793B or 23%), Social Security ($701B or 20%), Defense Department ($689B or 20%), non-defense discretionary ($660B or 19%), other ($416B or 12%) and interest ($197B or 6%)
lets see.........you can't mess with sacred cows - or any demographic that block votes - so keep your hands off social security and medicare.... old farts vote - :-) and interest is there to stay...that is about 50% that can't be touched unless Obama wants to just hand over the reigns right now...
and of course defense - it wouldn't be the US if it weren't the international keeper of the peace in every possible oil producing nation in the world and a few others - but 700 billion is only a mere 300 billion off the 1 trillion or so deficit in the budget. Why does the US have to outspend by such a huge amount any other country in taking care of the world ?
The US spends nearly 5% of its GDP on military - China, UK, France, and India spend about half that -Russia spends about the same... Is the US really getting value for money ? When the economy was great, did it have the obligation to do so ? Does it still ? Or do other countries need to step up to the plate ? Perhaps, just maybe, there is a bit of pork in that barrel....
All the talk about cutting, and then you notice that :
U.S. ranked 27th lowest of 30 OECD countries in its collection of corporate taxes relative to GDP -
Maybe it shouldn't be about cutting , but taxing.
The economy in this country has gotten so bad, people can't save for retirement even if they wanted to. The banks pay almost no interest on the money you have there. During the "Great Depression" banks were paying 4% on a savings account.
Now that they have passed a budget bill, they are off on vacation. What about the 4000 FAA workers that are out of a job because they did not pass a budget for them?
It is time to send Washington, State, and local governments a message. Get out on Election Day and Vote! If they are in office, Vote them out. Send the message to the newly elected officials, The Citizens of this country come first! If you don't think that way you will be a one term elected official also...
My take is completely purge Washington (you have to get out to vote), same goes to state and local politicians. We (all of us) have accepted the political talk for much too long. You know they are not going to keep campaign promises, lets face it getting 10 people to agree on most anything is a challenge.
Challenge a successful business owner to run for office in your district and get out there to support him/her.
We can complain all day, but bottom line is do your homework and get out to vote.
I am a recipient of social security. I purposely waited until I turned 66 so that I could receive my full allotment without the encumbrances of "paying back" if I chose to continue to work. I do work part time and make myself available ONLY, AND ONLY IF a younger person on the staff is unable to or chooses not to acept the hours. The younger folks have kids and school, mortgages, education loans to pay off, and us older people need to give them a little room to get some work time. That being said, I am chagrinned that some younger people simply refuse additional hours and leave the way for me to take them--gladly, I might add.
I am NOT a heroin addict, alcholic, on any kind of disability and I HAVE been gainfully employed and paying INTO social security since I have been 13 years old. But truth me told, I will most likely have used ALL the money I put INTO SSI well before I die. I know, I know: what I could have done with my money IF I did not have to kick into social security, compound interest, etc, etc. It gives some thought to the idea of partial privitization.
Now all that being said, I am absolutely IN FAVOR of the following: means testing (I personally might be harmed by this); raising the age for which you can receive partial benefits; a very modest increase in the tax rate that employees (the employer tax remains where it is now) are required to pay; STOP the stupid and almost worthless $255.00 payment for the death of a spouse; force those civil service types who are NOT NOW paying into Social Security to do so; INSTITUTE A LAW that says that "when the Congress makes a law regarding SSI, ANYTHING, they ARE ABOSOLUTELY NOT ABLE to exempt themsleves from it (these clowns get into the same bucket as they place us); increase the age at which IRA and TSA must be drawn; raise the maximum salary (now capped at $112,500/year well into the $2-$3 million/year range) for which social security tax is drawn (But the tax comes from the worker NOT the employeer--the employer contribution is capped where it is now. I think that increasing taxes on the generators of jobs simply drives jobs away. And finally DISALLOW the Congress to raid the social security trust fund as a source of money for projects that need to be properly and separately funded.
Lastly, while I think it is essentially Class Warfare to attack the rich and get them to pay more taxes (MANY of the recent adverts on the TV shows that class warfare is quite alive and, in my opinion, the tool of the democrats), they should NOT be penalized for all their hard work, i.e. Their salary, but should pay sopcial secuity taxes for ALL their salary. The operational word is WORK and NOT capital gains, dividends, interest payments, tax shelters, loop holes which SHOULD be taxed and taxed higher.
I'm waiting patiently for all these high paid Obama types like Oprah, George Soros, Barbara Streisand, the Hollywood elite, the owners of the Liberal Press, etc to be bundled in with the Wall Street types and let the howls occur.